Errol Lee manages more than band's bare essentials

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

In football, the player-coach is noteworthy but not very rare. In the business of music, though, the roles of manager and performer are almost always strictly separated. Errol Lee of the Bare Essentials is one of the few exceptions, dealing with the business of running the band even as he supplies lead vocals - admittedly, on a smaller scale these days than on songs such as their soca hit Back a Yard.

The Bare Essentials settled on their name after their first major date, a tea party on the lawns of King's House. Just before the band, comprising past members of Knox College's in-school outfit the Jaywalkers, struck up, the MC announced that they were going to play the National Anthem.

The band did not know that would have been required and Lee duly sang it a cappella.

Then the MC asked them their name, promptly dubbing them 'Children of Tomorrow' (as the era's most popular band was 'Tomorrow's Children') when they did not provide one.

settling on a name

So, Errol Lee told The Gleaner, the band decided that at their next rehearsal they had to learn the National Anthem and settle on a name. "Someone said let us call it the Bare Necessities," Lee said, that suggestion coming because of their meagre stock of equipment. Someone else said 'necessities' did not have a ring and suggested 'essentials', which was agreed on.

Lee said over time, although they did not formally name themselves so, the band became known as Errol Lee and the Bare Essentials. "I was on TV all those years, so people said it is Errol Lee band," he said. Still, after about nine years as a unit, he was the only original member left, as everyone else had migrated or gone abroad to study.

Being the manager also stemmed from Lee's public image. Lee said for a brief period in the mid-1970s, Ronnie Nasralla volunteered to do the job. However, as he worked at the then Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) "people would call me. I was easy to reach. They wanted to know if we could play and how much we would charge".

early work

So, Lee said, he learnt the business of managing the band on the job. "You make mistakes along the way and you press along," he said. It helped that in the early 1970s the Bare Essentials worked every Wednesday night at the Epiphany Nightclub in Kingston and, later, on Fridays and Saturdays at Club Caribbean in Runaway Bay, St Ann.

As the band spread its wings, naturally, Lee's responsibilities expanded. Now, he says, "I do the bookings, I make sure we get paid and I pay the bills". That includes making sure the equipment is kept in good shape, "so it does not break down when you are on a job".

He points out, though, that teamwork is important. Keyboard player Lloyd Dunbar deals with PR and "all the calling around. He makes sure people know rehearsal time, what time the bus is leaving, which uniform to wear".

There are those times when management-related issues have to be dealt with as the band is about to go on stage. "I let them know everything is all right, they can go ahead. In this business, it is important to deal with it when the iron is hot … . The worst thing is to be onstage and looking over the heads of the crowd to see the person who is supposed to pay you," Lee said.